Daily News for June 03, 2020

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Today’s Takeaway

Feds say no to relaxing log export rule for private land

June 3, 2020
Category: Today's Takeaway

The Canadian gov’t declined Mosaic/Steelworkers request for temporary relief on federal log export policy. In related news: BC sawlog prices fell to two-year low in Q4 2019; lumber prices keep rising, home building shifts to lower density markets; and what might the forest products sector look like in 6-months. Meanwhile: Canadian Pacific completes eastern railway expansion; and a look back as Resolute Forest Products marks 200 years.

In Wood Product news: a BC Wood feature video on how the Hazelton Recreation Centre helped rebuild a community; Vancouver’s 9-storey hybrid proposal for Indigenous housing; Toronto’s net-zero Centennial College plan; and France’s proposed mass timber-embracing law. Pushing back on wood are the Portland Cement Association and the Australian Greens. 

Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog Editor

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Business & Politics

Sawlog Prices In British Columbia Fell to Two-year Lows in The 4Q/19, But Remained Higher Than Those in Many Competing Regions of North America

By Hakan Ekstrom, Wood Resources International LLC
Cision Newswire
June 2, 2020
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

STOCKHOLM — Wood raw-material costs in British Columbia fell for both sawmills and pulpmills in the second half of 2019. This fall comes after a seven-year period of record high costs on two fronts – high log costs for the sawmilling sector, and high wood fiber costs for the pulp industry. The decline in sawlog prices came as a result of declining demand and generally sufficient log supply for the sawmills in the province. In the Interior of BC, prices for mixed softwood sawlogs fell from an average of US$78/m3 in the 4Q/18 to US$67/m3 in the 4Q/19. This is the lowest level in two years but is still higher than prices in both Eastern Canada and the US South… The forest industry in western Canada benefited from reduced log exports in late 2019. …Both export price and export volume declined during 2019. 

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Federal government says no to relaxing log export rules

By Susie Quinn
Alberni Valley News
June 2, 2020
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

The federal government will not be making any changes to its log export policy, says Courtenay-Alberni MP Gord Johns. The subject came up in May after Mosaic Forest Management asked the United Steelworkers Local 1-1937 for support in asking for temporary relief on log exports from private land. The company said this type of relief would assist it in starting up again after a protracted curtailment. “We have a commitment from the federal government that they won’t be making any changes around federal Notice 102 or circumnavigating the timber export advisory committee,” Johns said Friday (May 29) after attending the official opening of San Group’s HewSaw mill in Port Alberni. “That’s good news because fibre that’s coming from our forests should be always given first access and priority to our local mills and processors and manufacturers.”

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CP completes acquisition of Central Maine & Quebec Railway, expanding reach and optionality

By Canadian Pacific Railway
Cision Newswire
June 3, 2020
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada East

CALGARY, Alberta — Canadian Pacific completed its previously announced acquisition of the Central Maine & Quebec Railway US Inc. Together with the earlier acquisition of Central Maine & Quebec Railway Canada Inc., this completes CP’s purchase of the entire CMQ network, which was first announced in November 2019. CMQ US and CMQ Canada will continue to operate in the U.S. and in Canadarespectively as subsidiaries of CP. …CMQ’s network links CP directly to the Atlantic Ocean port of Searsport, Maine, and to Port Saint John in New Brunswick through connections with Eastern Maine Railway and New Brunswick Southern Railway. …CP plans to invest as much as $90 million over the next three years to bring CMQ’s rail infrastructure up to Federal Railroad Administration Class 3 standards.

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Resolute Forest Products marks 200 years

By Rich Christianson
The Woodworking Network
June 2, 2020
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada East

MONTREAL – Forest products giant Resolute Forest Products is celebrating its 200th anniversary this year. The company, started in 1820 by William Price to export lumber to England, now operates more than 40 pulp, paper, tissue, wood products and energy facilities across North America. Resolute’s revenues topped $2.9 billion in 2019. Resolute’s family tree includes Abitibi, Consolidated Bathurst, Canadian International Paper, Bowater, Ontario Paper, Donohue and Price. “Resolute’s roots spread out across two centuries, over 20 predecessor companies, multiple countries and hundreds of communities,” said Bradley Martin, chairman of Resolute’s board of directors. …Resolute’s history was chronicled in the book, “Resolute Roots,” written in 2016 by Martin Fairbank, a former Resolute employee. Resolute Forest Products maintains a company timeline commemorating its milestones.

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UPM Plywood is planning to scale down plywood production in Finland

UPM Plywood
June 2, 2020
Category: Business & Politics
Region: International

UPM Plywood is planning to permanently close its Jyväskylä plywood mill, which is producing spruce and birch plywood. The company starts a consultation process concerning the entire personnel working at the mill. UPM Jyväskylä plywood mill employs 167 people. The Profitability of Jyväskylä plywood mill has been weak for a long time, even during periods of high-demand. Despite investments as well as savings and improvement activities, the profitability has not improved to a sustainable level. …New birch plywood capacity has been built especially in Russia, where the production cost level is significantly more competitive than in Finland. …”According to the plan, the products currently manufactured in Jyväskylä would be produced in other UPM Plywood mills in Finland, Estonia, and Russia”, says Mika Sillanpää, of UPM Plywood.

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Finance & Economics

Wood panel prices provide indication of remaining summer lumber demand

Madison’s Lumber Reporter
Lesprom Network
June 2, 2020
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada, United States

…Given the current situation in many regions of the US, it is assured that demand for plywood and other panel sheathing is going to increase in the short-term. …As for dimension lumber, 2×4 studs and standard grade dimension lumber items were again in short supply compared to demand. …For the week ending May 29, 2020, the price of Western-Spruce-Pine-Fir 2×4 continued its upward trajectory, improving another +$6, or +two per cent, to US378 mfbm compared to the previous week when it was US$372. Prices for this benchmark construction framing dimension softwood lumber item were up +$42, or +13 per cent from the lows of one month ago. 

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Where Do We Go from Here? A Q&A with Pete Stewart

Interview of Pete Stewart, CEO, Forest2Market
The Society of American Foresters Magazine in Forests2Market
June 3, 2020
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: United States

…What’s your outlook on the housing market? …I don’t think we’re going to be able to snap our fingers and go back to the way things were in January. That said, I still believe the fundamentals of the US economy are sound. …What might the forest products sector look like in six months? A year? If trends continue, certain segments in P&P will be fine. …North American lumber prices have surged in the last few weeks. However, current production is just a fraction of what it was prior to the economic shutdown. Without a serious near-term jolt in housing starts, the solid-wood sector will be in for some significant challenges over the next year. Timberland prices will be less impacted in the near term, and they will largely remain flat through 2021.

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Increased Home Building in Lower-Density Markets Ahead

By Litic Murali
NAHB – Eye on Housing
June 2, 2020
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: United States

The COVID-19 pandemic is likely to hasten a housing trend already taking place across the nation – residential construction activity that is expanding at a more rapid rate in lower density markets such as smaller cities and rural areas. …An unavoidable lesson of the public health crisis associated with COVID-19 is that major metropolitan areas faced greater challenges. High density lifestyles, championed by some planners over the last decade as a rival to suburban living, proved to be vulnerable to a virus due to crowded living conditions, dependency on mass transit, and insufficient health and public sector infrastructure. Given expected impacts of the virus on housing preferences, we expect these trends to continue. 

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Wood, Paper & Green Building

Social housing with a First Nations basket weave design proposed for Vancouver

By Kenneth Chan
The Daily Hive
June 2, 2020
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada West

The latest social housing building proposal in Vancouver takes on an architecturally unique design. Local non-profit housing developer M’akola Development has submitted a rezoning application …calls for a new 88-ft-tall, nine-storey social housing building with 84 units for Indigenous people. …This will be a Passive House green building that incorporates green roofs on the upper rooftops and the hybrid mass timber construction method. It will use cross-laminated timber floor and envelope panels, but it will have steel structural columns and a concrete core encasing the elevator shafts and emergency staircase. …The exterior facade and balcony guardrail pattern of wooden panels provides the building with a First Nation basket weave-inspired look. …“The wood expression celebrates the first inhabitants of this area, calling it Khupkhahpay’ay — meaning Cedar Tree.”

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Dialog designs mass timber net-zero carbon community college building for Canada

By Bridget Cogley
Dezeen Magazine
June 2, 2020
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada West

Architecture firm Dialog has revealed plans for a cross-laminated timber higher education building in Canada, which it says will be the first of its kind. The project, called A-Block Building Expansion, is a six-storey addition to an existing building at Centennial College of Applied Arts and Technology in Scarborough, which is about a 20-minute drive from downtown Toronto. Designed by Dialog and Ontario firm Smoke Architecture, the building will be constructed with cross-laminated timber (CLT), an engineered wood made from laminated timber sections, using locally-sourced Canadian timber. The use of wood, which traps carbon, will form part of Dialog’s ambition to make the building carbon neutral. …The team claims the building will be Canada’s “first-ever mass timber, net-zero carbon, higher-education facility”. …References to nature and designs from Indigenous peoples, also called the First Nations, are key to the project. 

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Upper Skeena Recreation Centre in Hazelton, BC: Building a community

BC Wood
June 1, 2020
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada West

BC Wood is proud to present this short video that tells the story of how this Upper Skeena community came together to make a dream a reality… It highlights the community support that occurred for the project and the benefits accrued to the Northern BC community of Hazelton as a result of its completion. This recreation centre was made possible by the vision and collaboration of the local, regional, and Gitxsan governments, and by the work of BC Wood, who charged Hemsworth Architects and Equilibrium Consulting with developing a wood construction, multi-function building design, to replace the community’s aging ice rink. One of the primary criteria was that this new design/build would result in considerable cost savings to the community, versus moving forward with a traditional building plan. The video showcases how the project came together and makes a case that other communities in BC can undertake similar wood infrastructure projects.

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Concrete Buildings Have Green Advantages

Letter by Michael Ireland, CEO, Portland Cement Association
The Wall Street Journal
June 2, 2020
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States

The idea that mass timber is the most sustainable option for the built environment and is a “climate-friendly alternative” to concrete as suggested in “Nation’s Tallest Wooden Building Rises in Ohio” misses the forest for the trees. Like trees, concrete buildings also absorb carbon dioxide. But unlike wood, concrete is a true “carbon vault” because it never rots or burns, stopping release of CO 2 back to the atmosphere. But that alone doesn’t make concrete more sustainable than timber. …Concrete buildings require less maintenance, can be repurposed because they last much longer and make the heating and cooling of buildings more efficient, reducing emissions during the use phase. …Considering the full spectrum of environmental impact, concrete is the key to creating sustainability in the built environment. [We respect the copyrights of the source publication – full access may require a subscription]

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Is the construction industry set to embrace mass timber?

By Peter Maxwell
Frame 134
June 3, 2020
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: International

The French government is poised to pass a law that stipulates that new public buildings will have to be built from 50 per cent biobased materials from 2022. It’s a timely shot in the arm for evangelists of mass timber construction. Many have been frustrated by the slow uptake of such materials, despite their ability to significantly reduce the environmental impact of the construction industry, producer of upwards of 40 per cent of global carbon emissions according to some estimates. …The newly proposed legislation builds on commitments already in place for the development of Paris’s 2024 Olympic complex, which state that any building under eight storeys will primarily be constructed using timber. ‘There is no reason that what is possible for the Olympics should not also be possible for ordinary buildings,’ argued Julien Denormandie, the French Minister for Towns and Housing.

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Forestry

Call for Proposals for a contribution to the Forest Innovation Program—Canadian Wood Fibre Centre

Natural Resources Canada
June 3, 2020
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada

The Canadian Wood Fibre Centre is seeking proposals to fund projects which address the objectives of the Canadian Wood Fibre Centre and Government of Canada priorities in the forestry sector. The deadline for submitting applications is no later than 11:59 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time, Tuesday, July 14, 2020. The Canadian Wood Fibre Centre is a research branch within Natural Resources Canada’s Canadian Forest Service. As part of the Forest Innovation Program, the CWFC supports research and development activities that contribute to bring innovative solutions to the Canadian forest industry. The objectives of the CWFC are to develop, improve and share wood fibre-related knowledge and tools in support of forest management decisions in three research areas: Characterization of forest biomass and enhancement of fibre production for the bioeconomy; Modeling of growth and yield of trees under global change and adaptive silviculture; and Development of innovative solutions for forest management 4.0. Information on the contribution process can be found here and in the Application Guide.

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On Saugstad’s caribou partnership agreement thoughts

Letter by Roger Harris, MLA for Skeena 2001-2005
Dawson Creek Mirror
June 2, 2020
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Roger Harris

I usually have a lot of time for reading Evan’s columns but his two opinion pieces on the Caribou Partnership Agreement are so full of over-simplifications, inaccuracies and inflammatory comments that it is hard to even know where to start. The most damaging aspect of these two articles is how they are aimed at garnering an emotional response, which seems to be lost on Evan.  The articles seem purely intended to raise anxiety and fear, not inform and educate.  You cannot write articles that reference a specific group, First Nations, and characterize them as abhorrent…acting in bad faith…questioning their integrity; and not understand how these are the kinds of words that inflame and nurture racism not ease it.  Evan goes as far as to raises the spectrum of First Nations ownership of forest licenses as something to be feared, even though there is no evidence to support such a claim…

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$40 Million for Food, Farming and Forestry Innovation

Emissions Reduction Alberta
June 1, 2020
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Fred Dzida

EDMONTON, Alberta – Alberta’s Minister of Environment and Parks, Jason Nixon, announced Emissions Reduction Alberta’s (ERA) $40 million Food, Farming, and Forestry Challenge. This funding opportunity will accelerate technology innovation in support of long-term competitiveness and stimulate growth in the critically important agriculture, agri-food, and forestry sectors. It provides near-term capital to innovators, while also identifying opportunities and solutions for longer term economic recovery, investment attraction, and job creation. …ERA will fund up to $5 million per project and up to 50 per cent of total project costs. …“Now more than ever, we need to take action to ensure a sustainable future for the 70 communities and thousands of Albertans who depend on forestry. Innovation is a key part of preparing for our future. This program will help support forestry jobs throughout Alberta,” says Fred Dzieda, Chair, Alberta Forest Products Association.

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Vancouver Island grizzlies: moving in, or just passing through?

By Binny Paul
Nanaimo News Bulletin
June 2, 2020
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Officially, grizzly bears don’t live on Vancouver Island. But increasing numbers of anecdotal sightings are causing observers to question the conventional notion the big bears are just passing through. Lack of studies and conclusive data on the exact number of grizzlies has left a trail of unanswered questions and prompted debate among residents and researchers. The Ministry of Forest does not have any historical data on the subject. Ministry spokesperson, Dawn Makarowski, said Vancouver Island has not been included in any grizzly study since it is not considered “occupied,” meaning there is no record of females birthing cubs here. …While it could be argued that grizzlies are moving in and out of territories in search of food, grizzly advocate Nicholas Scapillati from Grizzly Bear Foundation said grizzlies turning up during spring cannot be about salmon and their behavior “raises questions.” However, he said that there are no conclusive answers yet.

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Planting trees helps climate change and creates jobs

By Jad Daley, president and CEO of American Forests
The Hill
June 2, 2020
Category: Forestry
Region: United States

Jad Daley

Rarely in our nation’s history have we simultaneously managed two crises at the scale of COVID-19 and climate change. This perfect storm demands quick-start solutions that address both simultaneously. One such solution is something both political parties, as well as many corporations and nonprofit organizations, supported even before the storm hit — planting billions of trees across the United States to naturally capture carbon emissions while generating thousands of new jobs. …With 40 million Americans filing unemployment claims over recent weeks, this kind of federal leadership has an urgency not seen since the Great Depression. …America has 20 million acres of public land in need of reforestation — enough land to employ hundreds of thousands of Americans planting 6 billion trees. Here’s a start: removing the outdated cap on the U.S. Forest Service Reforestation Trust Fund would free up an additional $90 million annually from existing tariff receipts that were originally set aside for reforestation.

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Missoula County commissioners fret about public reaction to nearby logging projects

By Laura Lundquist
The Missoula Current
June 2, 2020
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

MONTANA — A few forestry projects are about to take place in Missoula County, prompting commissioners to worry about public reaction. On Monday afternoon, representatives of the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation told commissioners about three timber projects that will take place over the next year or so under the federal Good Neighbor Authority. Because the U.S. Forest Service continues to be underfunded, Congress created the Good Neighbor Authority as part of the Farm Bill to allow state agencies or counties to create logging projects on federal land and the state reinvests the timber-sale money in future forest projects. One of the Good Neighbor projects is the Grant Creek Fuels Project up Butler Creek Road, on the Lolo National Forest.

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High risk of widespread wildfires across Europe this year, EU says

Reuters
June 2, 2020
Category: Forestry
Region: International

BRUSSELS – The European Union expects dry weather to cause unusually widespread wildfires in Europe over the coming months, including in the central and northern regions that tend to be less at risk, the EU’s crisis management commissioner said on Tuesday. After above-average European spring temperatures, forest fires have already broken out in recent days in Sweden and northern France, data from the European Forest Fire Information System show. This is in addition to fires in Italy and Portugal, which are vulnerable because of their warmer climate. The Commission, the EU executive arm, expects the situation will get much worse over Europe’s summer. “This fire season is expected to be above the ten-dozen-year average when it comes to the number of fires and areas burned in Europe,” said Janez Lenarcic, the EU’s crisis commissioner, referring to the period between June and September, which is usually the warmest in Europe.

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‘Look up at the trees, think about wood’: government logging ad uses images of pristine native forests

By Lisa Cox
The Guardian
June 2, 2020
Category: Forestry
Region: International

A government promotion for the forestry industry that encourages Australians to “look up at the trees, think about wood” should be taken down after a recent federal court ruling on native forest logging, the Greens say. The department of agriculture paid a production company $94,875 last year to produce a series of videos aimed at promoting Australia’s logging industry as environmentally sustainable. …The videos were made to cover all aspects of the logging industry, both native forest logging and plantations. …Recent responses to written questions from the Greens senator Janet Rice show the former department of agriculture and water resources commissioned the videos as “one tactic” in a range of communication activities meant to develop a “new narrative” for the forestry industry.

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Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy

Build Back Better by investing in Coastal First Nations Great Bear Forest Carbon Project

By Chief Marilyn Slett, president of the Coastal First Nations
Corporate Knights
June 2, 2020
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada, Canada West

Marilyn Slett

As Canada ties economic stimulus strategies for corporations to its 2050 climate goals, both government and business have an opportunity to invest in a First Nations forest carbon financing model and make a meaningful commitment to address their climate impact. In early May, the Prime Minister unveiled a new “bridge loan” program to support large businesses recovering from a pandemic economy. …By encouraging carbon offsetting in the plan, Canada has an opportunity to further reconciliation with Coastal First Nations… The Great Bear Forest Carbon Project – led by nine coastal First Nations – is the world’s largest forest carbon initiative. …[It] offers Canadian businesses and governments the chance to build back better in the wake of COVID-19 by working with Coastal First Nations to protect the world’s largest intact temperate rainforest right here on our Pacific Coast.  …buying Great Bear credits is an opportunity to invest in a conservation economy that balances ecological integrity with human well-being.

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Ireland’s bioenergy opportunity ‘immense’, says new IrBEA president

Bioenergy Insight Magazine
June 2, 2020
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: International

Paddy Phelan

Ireland’s bioenergy opportunity is “immense”, according to the new president of the Irish Bioenergy Association (IrBEA), Paddy Phelan. …According to Phelan, sustainably-produced bioenergy will play a key role in Ireland’s transition from a fossil fuel-based economy to a low-carbon economy, with biomass, biogas, energy crops, wood fuels and biofuels playing a key part. He added: “As well as contributing towards Ireland’s renewable energy targets, the sector can be the catalyst to drive jobs and economic growth in rural Ireland while assisting to address the climate change and emissions reduction challenges we face as a country and people.” Phelan said IrBEA’s objective should be to provide 100% of Ireland’s energy demand from renewable sources by 2050

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Forest Fires

Firefighters battling ‘out of control’ near Beaver Creek provincial park

By Danton Unger
CTV News
June 2, 2020
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

WINNIPEG — As a wildfire in Beaver Creek Manitoba continues to burn out of control, Manitoba Conservation says six cottages have been damaged by the fire already. As of Tuesday afternoon, Manitoba’s fire map has listed the wildfire as ‘out of control.’ A provincial spokesperson told CTV News the fire started at a peat harvesting area in the region, but the exact cause remains under investigation. The wildfire, which started on Monday afternoon, burned through the night as the Manitoba Wildfire Service, along with the help of the Gimli, Arborg, and Riverton municipal fire departments, continued to fight the fire Tuesday. The map lists the size of the fire as being more than 600 hectares large. Beaver Creek is located about 90 kilometres north of Gimli along the shores of Lake Winnipeg.

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